Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

Dispatch 3: Driving without shame

I’m feeling no guilt driving a hybrid SUV, but I’m not the type to feel guilt anyway.

If I was driving my ’97 Jeep Cherokee on this trip, I wouldn’t feel compelled to cower with shame. Heck, the sooner we use up all the oil in the world the sooner we will be forced to find a new, clean technology to replace it. You might say guzzling gas is good for the environment (and you’d have to knock back a few shots of tequila to buy into that cockeyed logic). However, though I’d be shameless behind the wheel of the Jeep, I’d also be gulping hard every time I stopped to fill the tank. My son, Daniel, took the Jeep with him a couple of summers ago when he went to work on a ranch in South Dakota. I offered to buy all the gas for his adventure. To understate it, I’ll just say the final bill was not tiny. After his stint punching cows, Dan headed east to visit a girlfriend in Wisconsin and came home by way of the California Redwoods. Thank the Lord the price at the pump that summer was not four bucks.

Which it is now. So, a hybrid is the way to go, right?

Well, I’ve quickly learned people have a misconception about hybrids. Yes, the gas engine turns off completely and the electric engine kicks in when you’re sitting at a stoplight, idling in traffic or crawling along at speeds under 25 miles per hour. But, once you hit 26 or just turn on the air conditioner, the gas motor takes over. As I’ve driven my borrowed Ford Escape Hybrid over the past few days, the electric-only moments have been far fewer than you might expect. Nevertheless, the dual configuration makes a difference.

Ford promises 34 miles to a gallon in city driving and that’s almost exactly what I got tooling around town last weekend. Not too shabby for an SUV (admittedly, the Escape is on the smaller side of the SUV scale, but still…). The interesting thing about a hybrid is that, unlike gas-only cars, highway mileage is actually worse than in-city. That’s because we spend so much time just sitting there with engines running when we’re in town. When the hybrid sits, it’s not burning fuel, it’s just humming on electricity from the huge battery under the rear storage area; a battery that is recharged by using the heat generated whenever the brakes are employed. That’s a very neat trick.

But what about when the hybrid’s on the highway and cooking with gas?

Barreling along I-90 for 664 miles, I averaged just under 28 miles per gallon. That seems pretty good to me, especially since I am not one of the slower drivers on the road. Most of those miles passed at 75 or 80 an hour. The Escape’s gas/electric combo is said to generate a “sporty” 155 horsepower with “V6-like acceleration.” In other words, you won’t be trailering any big boats with it, but it moves pretty well when you punch the pedal. My only brief moment of worry was when I was pulling onto the freeway right in front of a big semi and I suddenly realized I was not driving my BMW 330xi. Still, the Escape escaped and I suppose, for someone like me, there is an advantage to a more modestly powered automobile. Driving at 75 to 80 felt about right in the Escape and I felt no compulsion to go faster. The BMW, on the other hand, doesn’t feel as if it hits it’s stride until it reaches 90. That’s just fine for Germany but is a bit risky in the US of A, even in Montana where the days of unlimited speed are long gone.

Of course, it’s a little unfair to compare the performance of the Escape with a BMW. Besides, the Escape has one thing my BMW does not: a cool little audio input socket right in the console where I can plug in my iPod. One strange thing kept happening, though, as I blasted the music. Every so often, the volume would fade all on its own. Does this have something to do with variations in the electrical system caused by the constant recharging of the big battery? I’ll have to ask Mr. Ford that question. (A much deeper question was asked in a reader’s response to my last dispatch: How much environmental damage is caused in the production of these batteries?)

All in all, I’d say hybrids are not a huge leap toward the day when we’ll all be driving without dependence on Mideast oil, but they are still a step in the right direction.

I’ll report later if there is more to tell about the hybrid experience. For now, though, I am contemplating my imminent downsizing to one horsepower as I step back in time to the mode of personal transportation that once dominated the world…

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.